Skye Veolia waste station about to close

Frankston residents will from next week have to take their hard waste to depots outside the municipality.

The council will close the Skye Veolia waste transfer station next Tuesday for failing to comply with permit conditions.

This means residents must take their waste to Mornington, Clayton, Cranbourne, Hampton Park or Mordialloc. However, the Mornington waste transfer station is running at near capacity and Mornington Peninsula Shire Council is considering charging more for customers from outside the shire.

Frankston Council's former waste transfer station off McClelland Drive, Frankston North, was closed earlier this year to make way for the construction of the Peninsula Link freeway.

Veolia Environmental Services, in conjunction with Skye Sands, partially opened a waste transfer station off Ballarto Road, Skye, in March.

After construction delays, the council took out an intervention order against the operators due to the works not being completed by June 30. The partnership between Skye Sands and Veolia has now ceased. A council officer's report circulated at a Frankston Council meeting stated Skye Sands says the centre will remain closed until March-April next year when the transfer station is expected to be completed and a new operator is found.

In the meantime, the council has hired consultants to look at the cost of building a new council waste transfer station or joining other municipalities for a joint facility. Either option would take about two years to become operational.

Since the council-run transfer station closed there has been an increase in the amount of rubbish dumped on the sides of roads and in reserves by people refusing to pay increased charges at private waste transfer stations.

Frankston's annual hard waste collection is now in progress and the council is expecting it will be a record haul.

The cost of hiring a private two cubic metre skip is between $120-$130.

Only 28,000 of Frankston's 53,000 households pay the extra $100 a year for a 240-litre green waste bin.

As a stop-gap measure the council will subsidise an 'at call' waste collection service which is likely to cost $80-$90 for the collection of 1.4-2 cubic metres of hard waste or bundled prunings.

The council will subsidise 33 per cent of the cost for one service, with additional collections to be full cost.

At-call services operate at several other councils in Melbourne, including Greater Dandenong.